INNOVATION January-February 2015

in determining the safety of structures, terrain, products or systems for immediate use by the public. To address this concern, APEGBC is seeking an amendment to also allow the Investigation Committee to impose conditions or issue an interim suspension, given sufficient cause, without the additional delay of convening a second committee to perform this function. This change would not preclude due process as even with the temporary suspension in place, the matter would still progress to the Discipline Committee according to the usual procedure and the member or licensee would, as they do now, have recourse to the courts for an appeal of the temporary suspension. Fitness to Practice – “Fitness to Practice” refers to matters such as substance abuse, depression, and mental health issues which may affect one’s professional judgment. Presently, the Act doesn’t provide for consideration of a person’s state of mental health in determining competence for professional registration or practice. The rationale for the introduction of fitness to practice provisions is to protect the public and to help, not punish, the member or licensee suffering from a health condition that impairs his or her ability to function. When evaluating candidates for registration, no mechanism exists whereby medical assessments may be requested when APEGBC has reason to suspect that an applicant’s mental health may interfere detrimentally with their ability to practice. For members and licensees, APEGBC can only start to intervene, for example, with individuals suffering from addiction or mental health issues when the person’s behaviour results in a disciplinary issue. However, at the disciplinary stage, APEGBC’s intervention is essentially too late and solutions are confined to limiting or taking away a member’s right to practice. APEGBC is proposing an amendment that would create a

after a Notice of Inquiry is issued by the Discipline Committee. This means that even if all parties are amenable to ADR, it cannot be introduced until later, delaying an earlier resolution and limiting the time and cost savings that could be achieved for both parties. Through an amendment to the Act , APEGBC would seek the ability to utilize ADR earlier in the process as a means of putting restrictions or remedial measures in place for unsafe practitioners sooner rather than later. This would also mean that a resolution could be reached with the member involved before a Notice of Inquiry is issued and legal costs are incurred. 3. Full participation of qualified practitioners within their scope of practice Recognition of licensees as members under the Act – Through the Engineering Licensee (Eng.L.) designation, APEGBC recognizes the ability of engineering licensees to practice within their area of expertise and scope of practice as equivalent to professional engineer or geoscientist members. Licensees have the same voting privileges and opportunities to participate in the association’s governance. However, the wording of the Engineers and Geoscientists Act currently draws a distinction between a “member” and “licensee.” The distinction is problematic because some third- party legislation has been interpreted to refer only to members, therefore limiting the full participation of licensees within their scope. For example, certain jurisdictions in BC will not accept Letters of Assurance from an Eng.L. that a building is in compliance with the BC Building Code as the wording of the Local Government Act refers to “a professional engineer or architect registered as such” and does not specifically provide for a “licensee.”

fitness to practice requirement. This would equip APEGBC to deal with the current and foreseeable challenges to public safety without discriminating against applicants and members. Any assessment of fitness to practice would be conducted by expert medical professionals, be limited to an applicant’s existing condition, and be related to APEGBC’s regulatory role. Early alternate dispute resolution – Disciplinary hearings are costly and time consuming for both APEGBC and the member or licensee involved. Alternate dispute resolution (ADR) is one of the tools that APEGBC currently uses to resolve discipline matters in lieu of resorting to a disciplinary hearing. ADR takes the form of a Consent Order, which typically imposes restrictions on an individual’s practice. ADR is effective and cost-efficient. However, the Act currently limits the use of Consent Orders to the later stages of an investigation and discipline case,

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